Donald Trump signs executive order raising tariffs on aluminum and steel to 50% starting June 4

On Tuesday, June 3, Donald Trump signed an executive order raising tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50%, two sectors considered strategic and which the White House tenant wishes to protect. The text specifies that the new surcharge will take effect on Wednesday at midnight: 1:01 a.m. local time (6:01 a.m. Paris time).

"I considered it necessary to increase customs duties on steel and aluminum in order to adjust imports (...) to ensure that they do not jeopardize national security," the decree details.

According to the American president, "these new customs duties will be more effective in combating the excess of cheap production from foreign countries which is undermining the competitiveness of the steel and aluminum industries in the United States."

"Even though the customs duties imposed so far have provided essential support to prices on the American market, they have not allowed these industries to develop and maintain a rate of utilization of production capacities that is sufficient for their sustainability and in view of the needs of national defense," the text also justifies.

The 25% surcharge on steel and aluminum imports by the United States came into effect in mid-March. This was one of the first decisions on the matter by Donald Trump since returning to the White House.

The American president took advantage of a visit to a steelworks in Pennsylvania, in the east of the country, on Friday to announce the doubling of customs duties on these metals, assuring that "our steel and aluminum industries will be stronger than ever."

The European Commission reacted on Saturday, expressing "strong regret" over these new taxes, which "undermine ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated solution" with the United States. For its part, Canada, the United States' leading supplier of these products, filed a complaint on March 13 with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the first wave of tariffs on steel and aluminum. These measures "are incompatible with the United States' international trade obligations," the WTO stated.

The United States imported about half of the steel and aluminum used in the country in 2024.